Bitcoin (wallets and exchanges)

hi guys.
I have become a believer of bitcoin after studying up on it. I intend to make monthly purchases.
I bought a large chunk of bitcoin early September and have them stored in coinbase.
Coinbase charge 1.49% to convert from euro to bitcoin. Any better rates out there?
Also looking for any recommendations on safe, but convenient wallets.
I downloaded the Xapo app the other day and I am applying for a Xapo credit card, it has a Visa symbol on it so you can effectively spend your bitcoin in any shop that accepts visa. Has anyone tried this? Would they make their money on commission or the on the exchange rate for each transaction?

I believe Cubits are cheaper than that, but please double check as I normally trade USD-BTC.

I use a Nano-S ledger for cold storage.

Never tried the BTC linked Visas but can't imagine they are cheap if the BTC ATMs are anything to go buy.

Thanks Baloonman
I was just about to buy the Trezor cold storage wallet. I did consider the nano S ledger.

I have some great news for anyone looking to buy crypto currencys.
You can now buy them with zero commission !!!! I have done a lot of research online and on YouTube.
Coinbase is the largest US exchange and probably one of the most trusted
Hot tip for avoiding the 1.49% coinbase charge and still effectively using Coinbase.....
Open Coinbase on your desktop PC and login.
Open another tab in the browser and select [broken link removed]
GDAX is owned by bitcoin it's like their sister company.
Because this is run through Coinbase you will not have to sign up or even login you will automatically be logged in. If you click on the deposit button on the left you can transfer your Coinbase euros or bitcoin into the GDAX site. It is a tiny bit more complicated using this then Coinbase itself but it avoids the extortionate fees. 0% fees for a limit order and 0.25% for a market order. Just follow the simple explanation in the YouTube tutorial below and you can avail of the 0% fee all the time.

https://youtu.be/lcCIjIAqM-4

I use Kraken. A bit limited by the coins available but easy to use.
Going to have a look at Coinbase and Gdax.
I use a Ledger Nano S but I believe Trezor is equally good.
Hardware wallet is much safer.
I would not use an exchange wallet for long.
Just learning now. Got some ETH and BTC to get a feel.

Hello,

I've just had a quick look at two of the main wallets - the Nano S and Trezor.

The Trezor is €89, while the Nano S. is €69.60.

Any views on which is better, or justification for paying more for the Trezor ?

I'm hoping to use the wallet for multiple currencies, but at first glance both seem able to cater for this. Also, both seem to offer a backup solution if you ever lose the actual device. Any other vital considerations ?

Many thanks.

No vital difference, just technicalities.

ant dee said:

.... just technicalities.

Click to expand...

Please don't leave me swinging like that

I read an article somewhere about their possible points of weakness, ledger had a couple less. Now, don't be alarmed, those included physical possesion of the device, attack with laboratory infastracture and more than 24h time. If you lose your device, get your seed and move the coins. Another reason, along with being paranoid, to have both, since you can import the seed from either of them to either of them.
There are some articles on google comparing the 2 hardware wallets, they are not easy reads!

Does the 20% crash that just happened worry any Bitcoin investors?

When buying bitcoin on etoro, I had the impression I would actually own the coin in a crypto wallet but instead it looks like it is just a trading platform. Am I right? looking online it looks like it could be possible to actually buy the coin on etoro but it is not explained very well. Could anyone provide clarity on the matter?

Henley said:

Could anyone provide clarity on the matter?

Click to expand...

How do I trade cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrencies can be traded in two ways. Either you purchase the actual tokens and trade them on a cryptocurrency platform, or you trade derivatives based on the underlying cryptocurrency price. Depending on local regulations in your country of residence, you can do one or both on the eToro platform.

Read more about how to buy cryptocurrencies here.

Click to expand...

Henley said:

When buying bitcoin on etoro, I had the impression I would actually own the coin in a crypto wallet but instead it looks like it is just a trading platform.

Click to expand...

eToro are holding them in your name, you own them in the same way you own shares in a company when they’re sitting in say a DeGIRO stockbroker account. This is the only way to acquire crypto currency other than mining it yourself (not feasible for the average person).

The risk is that if eToro or your eToro account gets hacked, your cryptocurrency could be stolen. To solve this you would setup your own cryptocurrency wallet and transfer the crypto from eToro to the wallet you setup. You already owned it, but now you have sole personal possession, a little like holding paper share certificates at home instead of using a stockbroker.

Be warned that it is very common for people to have crypto stolen from their own wallets when their home computer has some malware lurking on it or to lose the cryptographic key needed to access the wallet. So you need to be careful and meticulous in how you setup and store the wallet you create.